The microstructural evolution and hardness and physical properties of a Cu-Hf alloy at the different processing stages were investigated using hardness, conductivity and tensile measurements, metallographic microscopy, scanning electron microscopy, and transmission electron microscopy. The results reveal that the electrical conductivity of these alloys was above 80% IACS after aging at 450°C, and the hardness and conductivity of the Cu-0.9Hf alloy were 180 HV0.5 and 80% IACS, respectively. The softening temperature of the Cu-0...

Individual and combined addition of Ti and Ce on the recycled Al-Si-Cu-Fe-Mn alloy was conducted. The microstructures and tensile properties of these fabricated alloys were investigated. In the case of Ti or Ce which was individually added, the added amount was ranging from 0.03 wt.% to 0.09 wt.%. The combined addition of Ti and Ce was set at the ratios of 1 : 1, 1 : 3, and 3 : 1 with a total amount of 0.12 wt.%. Microstructures and phases of these alloys were investigated by using an optical microscope, X-ray diffraction testing, and SEM coupled with EDS...

The purpose of this study was to analyze various characteristics and classification of C-shaped root canals and evaluate the causes of endodontic failure of C-shaped root canals by examining the resected root surface with an endodontic microscope and a scanning electron microscope (SEM). Forty-two teeth with C-shaped root canals were included in this study and had undergone intentional replantation surgery. Before surgery, periapical radiography and cone-beam computed tomography were taken. The root canal configuration was analyzed and classified according to Melton's classification at coronal and apical level...

The ability of membranes of native human red blood cells (RBCs) to bend into the cell to a depth comparable in size with physiological deformations was evaluated. For this, the methods of atomic force microscopy and atomic force spectroscopy were used. Nonlinear patterns of deep deformation (up to 600 nm) of RBC membranes were studied in normal state and under the action of modifiers: fixator (glutaraldehyde), natural oxidant (hemin), and exogenous intoxicator (zinc ions), in vitro . The experimental dependences of membrane bending for control RBC (normal) were approximated by the Hertz model to a depth up to 600 nm...

We report on the effect of the morphological modification on optical properties and polarization of ZnO nanorods (NR). Here, the morphology and structure of the ZnO NR were modified by introducing different annealing temperatures. The increase of length and diameter and change in density of the ZnO NR were clearly observed by increasing the annealing temperature. We found that the samples show different oxygen vacancy (VO ) and zinc interstitial (ZnI ) concentrations. We suggest that the different concentrations of VO and ZnI are originated from morphological and structural modification...

Using the atomic force microscopy- (AFM-) PeakForce quantitative nanomechanical mapping (QNM) technique, we have previously shown that the adventitia of the human internal mammary artery (IMA), tested under dehydrated conditions, is altered in patients with a high degree of arterial stiffening. In this study, we explored the nanoscale elastic modulus of the tunica media of the IMA in hydrated and dehydrated conditions from the patients with low and high arterial stiffening, as assessed in vivo by carotid-femoral pulse wave velocity (PWV)...

Sodium-ion batteries (SIBs), owning to the low cost, abundant resources, and similar physicochemical properties with lithium-ion batteries (LIBs), have earned much attention for large-scale energy storage systems. In this article, we successfully synthesize flexible freestanding carbon nanofiber-embedded TiO2 nanoparticles (CNF-TiO2 ) and then apply it directly as anode in SIBs without binder or current collector. Taking the advantage of flexible CNF and high structural stability, this anode exhibits high reversible capacity of 614 mAh·g-1 (0...

A digital hologram-optimizing method was proposed to improve the imaging quality of dual-wavelength digital holographic microscopy (DDHM) by reducing the phase noise level. In our previous work, phase noise reduction was achieved by dual-wavelength digital image-plane holographic microscopy (DDIPHM). In the optimization method in this paper, the phase noise was further reduced by enhancing the real-image term and suppressing effects of the zero-order term in the frequency spectrum of a digital hologram. Practically, the carrier frequency of the real-image term has the correspondence with interference fringes in the hologram...

Exploring earth-abundant and cost-effective catalysts with high activity and stability for a hydrogen evolution reaction (HER) is of great importance to practical applications of alkaline water electrolysis. Here, we report on A-site Ba2+ -deficiency doping as an effective strategy to enhance the electrochemical activity of BaCo0.4 Fe0.4 Zr0.1 Y0.1 O3- δ for HER, which is related to the formation of oxygen vacancies around active Co/Fe ions. By comparison with the benchmarking Ba0.5 Sr0.5 Co0.8 Fe0.2 O3- δ , one of the most spotlighted perovskite oxides, the Ba0...

Background: Technological advances constantly provide cutting-edge tools that enhance the progress of diagnostic capabilities. Gastrointestinal stromal tumors belong to a family of mesenchymal tumors where patient triaging is still based on traditional criteria such as mitotic count, tumor size, and tumor location. Limitations of the human eye and randomness in choice of area for mitotic figure counting compel us to seek more objective solutions such as digital image analysis. Presently, the labelling of proliferative activity is becoming a routine task amidst many cancers...

The purpose of this paper is to design and simulate a new computed tomography (CT) system with a high temporal resolution for dynamic objects. We propose a multisource cubical CT (MCCT) system with X-ray tubes and detectors installed on a cube. Carbon nanotube- (CNT-) based X-ray focal spots are distributed on the twelve edges of the cube. The distribution of X-ray focal spots and detectors completely avoids mechanical movements to scan an object under inspection. CNTs are excellent electron field emitters because the use of a "cold" cathode makes it possible to fabricate a cathode with multiple electron emission points, and the CNT-based X-ray focal spots possess little response time and programmable emission...

SnO2 nanoparticles have been synthesized by a novel route of a sol-gel method assisted with biomimetic assembly using L-leucine as a biotemplate. The microstructure of as-prepared SnO2 nanoparticles was characterized by X-ray diffraction (XRD), scanning electron microscopy (SEM), Fourier transform infrared spectra (FT-IR), and Brunner-Emmet-Teller (BET) measurements. The results demonstrated that the growth of SnO2 could be regulated by L-leucine at a high calcination temperature. The electrochemical performance of SnO2 was also measured as anodes for lithium-ion battery...

While several materials and techniques have been used to assess the quality of root canal fillings in micro-CT images, the lack of standardization in scanning protocols has produced conflicting results. Hence, the aim of this study was to determine a cutoff voxel size value for the assessment of root canal filling voids in micro-CT and nano-CT images. Twenty freshly extracted mandibular central incisors were used. Root canals were prepared with nickel titanium files to an ISO size 40/0.06 taper and then filled with a single cone (40/0...

The effect of microstructure on macroproperties of building materials was the initiation in order to use microscopic techniques for studying the materials' behavior. Primer role among the different techniques has the scanning electron microscope (SEM) as it provides much information in an easy and understandable way. SEM has been used in almost every study of the last decades, dealing with historic and repair materials to complete the analysis performed. In the case of historic mortars, it is a unique technique as it requires a small representative sample and without any intense treatment important information derived from an almost unknown sample including damage detection, phase identification, and microanalysis...

This article presents an atomic force microscopy (AFM) technique for true three-dimensional (3D) characterization. The cantilever probe with flared tip was used in a home-made 3D-AFM system. The cantilever was driven by two shaking piezoceramics and oscillated around its vertical or torsional resonance frequency. The vertical resonance mode was used for upper surface imaging, and the torsional resonance mode was used for sidewall detecting. The 3D-AFM was applied to measure standard gratings with the height of 100 nm and 200 nm...

Mg-based materials are regarded as one of the most promising candidates for hydrogen storage. In order to clarify the relationship between the structures and properties as well as to understand the reaction and formation mechanisms, it is beneficial to obtain useful information about the size, morphology, and microstructure of the studied materials. Herein, the use of scanning electron microscopy (SEM) and transmission electron microscopy (TEM) techniques for the representation of Mg-based hydrogen storage materials is described...

High-performance materials like ballistic fibers have remarkable mechanical properties owing to specific patterns of organization ranging from the molecular scale, to the micro scale and macro scale. Understanding these strategies for material organization is critical to improving the mechanical properties of these high-performance materials. In this work, atomic force microscopy (AFM) was used to detect changes in material composition at an extremely high resolution with transverse-stiffness scanning. New methods for direct quantification of material morphology were developed, and applied as an example to these AFM scans, although these methods can be applied to any spatially-resolved scans...